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On The Road Again At LSU

BY
Jeri Thorpe January 22, 2016

GAME NOTES
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The University of Arkansas women’s basketball team returns to the road traveling to Auburn for an SEC match up with the Razorbacks’ third consecutive Tiger opponent Sunday.

Arkansas improved to 9-10 overall and is tied for second in the SEC with a 4-2 record. The Razorbacks have won three in a row over No. 13 Tennessee, No. 24 Missouri and at LSU – Missouri and LSU, along with Auburn, are all Tigers.

The storylines for Arkansas are many and mostly center around the team’s solid start once conference play began. The Razorbacks have upset three ranked teams in its first six games, faced five ranked programs and won a road game this year.

That is an impressive run for one of the youngest teams in the country under the current head coach.

The Razorbacks’ 4-2 SEC start is the best in league play since going 3-2 in 2010-11 and it has been since 2011-12 that Arkansas defeated three ranked teams in a single season.

Junior Jessica Jackson and senior Melissa Wolff continue to be the team’s leaders on and off the court. Jackson leads Arkansas and is third in the SEC in scoring with 17.2 points per game. Wolff ranks 10th with 7.7 rpg and both players have roles leading the eight newcomers on this year’s squad.

In Arkansas’ most recent game, the Razorbacks allowed LSU to dictate the pace of play as the Tigers slowed the game down and kept it low scoring. Look for Auburn to speed up the game. They are long and athletic and have a solid 1-2-2 zone that could give Arkansas trouble.

The Razorbacks will need balance and good games from several players including juniors Kelsey Brooks, Alecia Cooley and Khadijah West along with sophomore Devin Cosper. All will have to contribute in the scoring and rebounding columns for the Razorbacks to win.

NOTES
• Arkansas is the fifth youngest team in terms of returning scholarship players under the current head coach
• Arkansas opened the SEC season facing five ranked teams in the Associated Press Poll – the only team in the Big Five Conferences to do so
• The Razorbacks have three wins over ranked teams this year (No. 13 Texas A&M, No. 13 Tennessee, No. 24 Missouri)
• The last time Arkansas defeated three ranked teams in a season was 2011-12 (Vanderbilt, South Carolina and Tennessee [not all at home])
• It is the first time since 2001-02 that Arkansas has won back-to-back games over ranked opponents (2001-02 vs. No. 7 South Carolina, No. 8 Mississippi State)
• Arkansas’s 4-2 start in SEC play is the best conference start since starting the year 3-2 in 2010-11. Arkansas lost the sixth game moving to 3-3 to start SEC play that season.
• This is just the second time in 10 seasons that Arkansas has started conference play with four wins in the first six games
• Arkansas opened 5-1 in 2005-06 but lost the last nine games of the season that year
• Arkansas is on a three-game winning streak, the longest of the year
• Arkansas is currently tied for second in the SEC – the program’s best SEC finish is fourth (1994-95) and tied for fourth (2000-01, 2011-12)

For more information on Arkansas women’s basketball, follow @RazorbackWBB on Twitter.